Hot for Teacher
by SelfProclaimedFangirlKate
Summary: COMPLETE! Emma and Regina have a complicated professional relationship that is hallmarked by their tendency to have arguments in the halls of the school where they both teach. But, despite their antagonistic ways, something keeps forcing them together. Will they eventually give in? (Of course they will). An extended entry for my collection of SQ oneshots (told in 5 parts).
1. I - Trapped

**A/N: **I haven't posted anything in awhile, but while I'm getting up the nerve to post something I wrote ages ago (but am convinced everyone will hate), and while I'm waiting for inspiration to strike to write some other new stories I've had in mind, I thought I'd give this one a stab. For awhile now I've been wanting to rewrite and refresh the first fic I ever wrote for OUAT more than 2 years ago (and it was the first bit of writing I had done in nearly a decade, so it admittedly wasn't great and needs some drastic revision). Originally this idea was supposed to be SQ, but I chickened out and was still figuring things out at the time, so I hastily changed it to fit a different pairing the first time around. But, now I'm completely reworking it using my original intended coupling to bring my original story plot to life, and hopefully improving the quality since I've done more writing since my initial attempt.

I have this fully prepped to go (it will be 5 chapters), so it'll be posted in its entirety over the next few weeks.

* * *

**I. Trapped**

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me." Regina slammed her palm against the wall as she stared at the emergency lights that flickered above her when the elevator jerked to a stop. The flickering stopped as quickly as it began and the small cubical was soon eclipsed in darkness. "Just great," she sighed.

"Relax. The backup generator should kick in any second now."

Regina turned to the voice behind her, the familiar lilt grating on her nerves. The other woman never looked up. Instead, she continued to scroll through something on her phone, the glow of the screen illuminating the ends of the long blonde hair that fell around her shoulders.

"I hope that's true, Miss Swan, but nonetheless, being stuck in an elevator with you is not how I'd like to spend my afternoon," she said as she turned to lean against the wall, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Emma looked up from her phone as she slid it into her back pocket, extinguishing the soft light emitting from the screen. "Well I'm sorry, Ms. Mills, but I don't think you have much choice," she replied, an undercurrent of bitterness in her tone. "But if it's any consolation, this wasn't exactly on my to-do list for today, either."

Regina scoffed as she pushed herself off the wall and toward the sliding doors, examining them as best she could in the darkness. "Do you think we can pry the doors open?"

"I highly doubt it, and I think we're between floors. Even if we get the doors open, it's not like we can just walk out," she said, pausing when she saw Regina dig her slim fingers into the small crevice between the doors in a feeble attempt to make them move. Emma chuckled and shook her head. "Careful, Regina, don't break a nail."

Regina looked back at her as she dropped her hands and made a sound that could only be described as a growl. She resumed her previous position against the wall and slid down until she was sitting on the floor of the elevator, resting her forearms on her knees. She looked over at Emma and glared. "Okay genius, what now? We just wait to be rescued?"

Emma took her cue from Regina and sat down against the back wall, shrugging. "Yep. Pretty much."

"That could be hours."

The blonde laughed again. "Don't be melodramatic. It won't be that long. I texted Gold to let him know we're stuck in here." Emma's phone vibrated in her pocket and she took it out. "Ah, speak of the devil."

Regina looked up at her expectantly, but the blonde said nothing. She just put her phone back in her pocket and stared straight ahead. God, Emma Swan was infuriating. "…And…?"

"He said that the power's out all over town because of the snow storm. The school's generator isn't working, but they're trying to fix it. He said to hang tight for now and he'll let us know when he has an update."

"Well, that's super helpful. Thanks." The sarcasm dripped off Regina's tongue as she spoke, taking out her phone and starting to type furiously.

Emma rolled her eyes. "Hey, it's not my fault that he doesn't have answers…and who are you texting? There's nothing anyone can do for us right now. We're stuck here for the time being."

"My mother. I'm letting her know she's a shitty superintendent and shouldn't have gone with the cheap generator that can't even make it through one small blizzard," she answered. When the message had been sent, Regina set her phone down next to her and turned on the flashlight feature to at least give them some light while confined in the dark box. She stretched her legs out in front of her and kicked off her heels as she rested her head against the wall, causing Emma to raise an eyebrow at her action. "What? If I'm stuck in here I'm at least going to try to get comfortable," Regina explained.

A sly grin appeared on the woman's face. "Is that an invitation?"

"God, no."

"Oh, come on, Regina. We have time to kill, and we do have a history with small, dark rooms. It would make for a good memory."

"There will be no memory, Miss Swan," Regina turned her head to glare at the other woman before staring back at the wall in front of her. "I knew going to that Halloween party was a bad idea."

Emma took her tote bag off her shoulder and set it on the floor next to her, leaning forward to bring herself a few inches closer to Regina. "You're wrong. Going to the party was a very good idea."

Regina rolled her eyes, but never met her gaze. "It was one time, Miss Swan. One kiss. One very bad lapse in judgment after a very shitty week and too much rum. Now, can we change the subject, please?"

"Sure. But you know, you can't avoid me or this conversation forever."

She continued to look straight ahead, avoiding the penetrating gaze of the other woman. "Well, I thought I was doing a fine job for the past few weeks until this godforsaken elevator decided to crap out on me."

"Okay, fine, I'm sorry," Emma said, holding her hands up to placate the brunette. "We can resume our lives of hating each other from across the hallway if that will make you feel better."

Regina visibly relaxed. "Thank you. That's all I ask."

"So…" Emma started a few minutes later, trying to fill the painfully awkward silence. She and Regina Mills never had much to talk about unless they were criticizing one another's teaching methods. "…do you have any fun plans for Thanksgiving?"

Regina looked over at Emma, debating whether to entertain what promised to be a very boring line of conversation. She was never one for small talk. "Oh, fuck it." She launched herself off the floor and quickly straddled Emma's lap, quite literally crashing their lips together.

Emma reciprocated before pulling back with a smirk. "What happened to it being a 'one time thing'?"

Regina stared at her incredulously. "Seriously? Do you really want to give me a chance to change my mind? Besides, anything is better than having to actually talk to you."

"Touché." Emma shrugged before using the hand that had found its way to the back of Regina's neck to guide her face back to her own, while using her other hand to pull Regina's hips more firmly to her lap. A minute later, as things continued to get more heated, Emma groaned as the lights flickered back on and the elevator started moving again. "It figures. Great timing."

Regina allowed a small sigh of frustration to escape her lips before quickly composing herself. She climbed off the blonde and retrieved her shoes from the middle of the elevator before standing up and straightening out her skirt. Glancing over at Emma, she saw that the woman was still sitting on the floor and looking up at the lights, annoyed about their impeccable timing to start working again. Regina lightly kicked her foot. "Get up and pull yourself together….and needless to say, this never happened," she said, articulating each word to emphasize her point.

"Right," Emma looked over toward Regina and obliged, picking up her bag and using her thumb to wipe any remnants from Regina's crimson lipstick from her mouth just in time for the doors to open.

"Mom, are you okay? Principal Gold said you were trapped in there." Henry Mills pushed his way through the small group of teachers and students who had gathered around to see who had been trapped in the elevator during the blackout.

"Yes, honey, I'm fine. It was barely 10 minutes. Let's get home before the snow gets any worse." She headed straight for the staff parking lot, not once looking back Emma who simply rolled her eyes as she watched the pair walk toward the exit.

* * *

**A/N: **I hope you enjoyed the first installment! Part II will be up by Saturday.


	2. II - Making Conversation

**A/N: **Thank you so much for the response to the first vignette! As promised, here's part II :)

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**II. Making Conversation**

"Did you have a nice Thanksgiving?" Emma handed Regina the mug of coffee she just brewed in the teacher's lounge as she put another cup in the Keurig for herself. It was their first morning back at work after the long holiday weekend — and the preceding elevator incident that Regina had been trying desperately to forget — and both women were in dire need of caffeine.

"Yes, thank you," Regina said, trying to be civil. "How was yours?"

"It was good. I caught up on grading and watched the game with my dad."

"You're a football fan?"

"Not at all. But he is, and it makes him happy. I've never seen the appeal, personally."

"I never understood that myself," Regina said, grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl on the counter. "I always thank God that Henry never showed any interest in playing. I can't imagine having to sit through a game every Friday night for months at a time."

"Especially here. Storybrooke High School football players are not exactly good athletes."

"Well, hello there, ladies!" Robin Locksley interrupted the women as he reached for a bag of tea, his wife Marian not too far behind him. "I heard you two had quite the adventure before break." He winked at Emma before wrapping his arm around Marian's waist. "You sure chose a good spot to wait out the power outage. Marian and I are a little jealous it wasn't us."

"Yes, a six-by-six box is a great place to be trapped," Regina snarked.

"It is if you're with the right company, am I right?" He lightly smacked Marian's ass as he gave Emma a knowing look, but the blonde ignored him. "Oh, come on, really? As much as you two hate each other, passionate hate sex never crossed your mind when confined to a small, dark space with nothing better to do to pass the time?"

"There was absolutely no hate sex. Not in the elevator, not ever." Regina said as she tossed her now empty coffee cup in the trash. For good measure, she added, "and there never will be," looking pointedly at Emma as she said it.

Marian chimed in, quickly changing the subject and coming to the rescue of her friend. "Hey Regina, Ariel will be meeting us for lunch later, so let's go finalize details for her bachelorette party." She grabbed Regina's hand and led her over to the couches in the corner of the lounge, leaving Robin and Emma in the kitchenette to discuss the plans for the volleyball game they were coaching later that afternoon.

"Thank you," Regina sighed as she sat down, sending her best friend a small, grateful smile.

"No problem. And I'm sorry for Robin's inappropriate line of questioning," she said. "I know he and Emma go way back, so sometimes he forgets that this is actually a place of work and not the kitchen table at their college apartment where they can gossip about the girls they brought home the night before."

Regina simply waived her off. "It's fine, Marian. I'm hardly offended."

Marian smiled. "Good…So, are you going to tell me what's really going on there?"

"Ugh, God, not you, too," Regina sighed. "Nothing happened."

"Maybe not yet, but everyone can smell the pheromones emitting from you two."

"There are no pheromones, Marian. I can't stand her. She's conceited and screws any woman who looks at her the right way."

"Are you speaking from experience?" Marian smirked and Regina just stared back at her friendly blankly. "Fine. But for not being able to stand her, you sure seem to have strong feelings toward her."

"Yeah, strong feelings of annoyance and hatred."

"Please, that's not hatred… it's foreplay."

Regina crinkled her nose as she scoffed. "Did you seriously just say that?"

"What? You know I'm right."

"No, you are most certainly not."

"How do you explain the Halloween party, then?" Marian asked, a knowing look of victory on her face.

Marian was the only person who knew about Halloween…well, aside from Robin, as Marian undoubtedly told her husband what she had witnessed that night. Every year their colleague, Killian Jones, threw an over-the-top Halloween party down at Storybrooke Harbor. After a few drinks and a particularly well-executed haunted cannery experience, Marian had walked in on Emma and Regina making out in the broom closet on Killian's yacht. "Had I not been drunk and lost looking for the bathroom when I walked in on you, who knows what would have happened between you two," Marian continued.

"Nothing would have happened," Regina protested. "I was coming to my senses and about to stop it right when you came in."

"Uh huh. It sure looked that way with your tits nearly popping out of your corset and your hand under her skirt groping her ass."

"Don't be vulgar."

"Okay, sorry," she apologized halfheartedly. "So, you're seriously saying it was a one-time thing…nothing more has happened since then?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying." Regina kept her poker face as she waited to see if Marian could see through her lie.

"Okay. I believe you…For now," she said, looking at her friend skeptically as she leaned back on the couch.

"Seriously, Marian, it was a one-time lapse in judgment fueled by whatever the hell was in that punch Killian made. Never. Again." She punctuated her statement with a flick of her hand.

Marian gave her a questioning look. "Uh huh. Well, for what it's worth, I think you'd be great together."

"Need I remind you, she and I hate each other."

"There's a thin line between love and hate."

"Not in our case."

"Sure, Regina."

"And you're an English teacher. Don't be so cliché."

Marian rolled her eyes. "Alright, I have to head to class. Don't forget about Ariel's bachelorette this weekend. We leave at 4 o'clock on Friday." The two women picked up their purses and headed toward the door.

"Of course. I'm looking forward to it. It'll be nice to get away for the weekend. I just have to drop Henry off at my mother's house after work but I'll definitely be ready to go by 4."

"Where are you guys off to?" Regina jumped as she heard Emma's voice behind them. She turned around to see that Emma and Robin had jogged to catch up to them in the hallway.

"Class," Regina responded.

"Ha, funny. I meant this weekend," Emma clarified.

"Ariel's bachelorette party is this weekend. We're going skiing in Vermont," Marian replied as Regina did her best to ignore Emma's lingering presence.

"Oh, that's right. I hope you guys have fun," Emma said. She was friendly with Ariel as a colleague, but they weren't particularly close, unlike Regina, Marian, and Ariel who had all attended college together. "Well, this is where I must leave you." Emma hit the call button for the staff elevator to head up to her fourth floor classroom. When the doors opened, she paused. "Regina, are you coming in?"

Regina eyed her carefully before responding, "Not a chance. I'll take the stairs." She turned around and walked toward the stairwell, her heels echoing with each step she took.

* * *

**A/N: **Part III will be up mid-week.


	3. III - The Greek Tragedy

**III. The Greek Tragedy**

"I cannot believe you…What the hell was that?" Regina yelled at Emma as they entered the teacher's lounge on a Thursday afternoon a few weeks later, not even trying to keep her voice at a reasonable volume.

"What the hell was what?" Emma asked as she stormed in behind Regina.

"That shit you just pulled. That was way out of line."

"I'm sorry, but I really don't see what the big deal is, Regina," she said, the slight chuckle in her voice enraging Regina even more.

"Guys, what the hell is going on?" Marian asked as she got up from her table to approach the two, looking back and forth between them. Regina was staring down Emma with such force that she looked like she wanted to set the blonde on fire. Emma, however, appeared to be unaffected by Regina's attempt at intimidation — she just seemed amused by the entire situation.

"Ask her," Emma said, perching on the edge of one of the tables and crossing her arms.

"Regina?" Marian inquired.

Regina leaned forward on the kitchenette counter, bracing herself as she took a breath. "Per the school board's demands for more interdisciplinary collaboration between teachers, my AP history class partnered with her AP literature class to study Ancient Greek history and politics through literature. Everything had been going well…we made it through _Lysistrata_ earlier this week with only a bit of awkwardness, given the subject matter, but it was fine… until we started reviewing Sappho today." She pushed herself off the counter and turned around to face Marian and Emma.

"Sappho was the lesbian poet, right?" Marian asked, not up-to-date on her Greek literature, as she exclusively taught American literature and creative writing.

"More or less, yeah," Emma clarified.

"Okay….and?"

Emma picked up the story from there. "The guys in the class were being typical teenage boys and making comments, mostly whining about how it was boring and they didn't get it," Emma started to explain. "And then some other students chimed in and were talking about how there's a lot of homosexuality among men in Ancient Greece, but barely any mention of women involved with women, beyond a few fragments from Sappho that hint at it…which is a very valid point," she paused to send a pointed look at Regina, before continuing. "So, I decided we should continue that very pertinent line of discussion."

"Of course you did. They were goading you, Emma. They know you're a lesbian and they all think you're hot. They're a bunch of hormonal 17 year old guys who wanted to hear you talk about girl on girl action. You walked right into their trap."

"Wait, what? What happened?" Marian asked, more confused than she was before.

Emma ignored the question. "God, Regina, it was a legitimate, academic question. It's not my fault you're a prude and closet case."

"I am neither of those things, Miss Swan," Regina seethed, leveling Emma with her gaze. "Just because I don't parade around town every weekend bragging about my latest conquest doesn't make me a prude, and I'm certainly not closeted," Regina added. It was true that Emma was much more forthcoming and outward about her sexuality, as she had even been the faculty member to first sponsor the LGBTQ Alliance student group several years earlier, but Regina never hid who she was…she just didn't advertise it to her students, either. Some of the students had known about her relationship with Mal a few years earlier, mostly Henry's friends who hung out at the house and had met the vivacious older blonde, but Regina liked to keep her personal life private. Her students didn't need to know who she was dating, regardless of their gender.

"I think we're getting off track…" Marian said. "What happened next?"

Regina composed herself and continued. "Emma decided to go off-script and pulled up a chapter from Lucian's _Dialogue of the Courtesans, _at which point she decided that she and I should give a dramatic reading of the interview with an antiquity woman who was involved in a three-way…a detailed recounting of the event, no less."

"It's a well-respected piece of literature, Regina. And as controversial as it may be, it's important historically – both from a lesbian perspective and as one of the earliest allusions to transgender issues…even if the subject matter isn't portrayed in the most positive light, it warrants discussion, nonetheless. I would think you would appreciate that as an academic, Regina."

"Be that as it may, this is not what we discussed when we planned the unit, so I was caught off-guard, Emma. The students were supposed to read Sappho's work on their own and then come to class for a mature discussion about the poetry, the role of women in classical antiquity, and examples of feminism in literature and politics. We never discussed talking about sexuality or bringing Lucian into it, much less us reading that chapter out loud in front of the class. Not to mention, my son is in your English class. It's awkward enough that he has to have his mother teaching this material in front of him and his friends, but then you pull this shit."

"Oh," Emma said softly, starting to understand Regina's perspective.

Regina paused long enough to take a breath, before continuing her verbal berating of the other woman. "And, if that's not bad enough, my mother will probably hear about it. I had to fight the school board to even let us teach both _Lysistrata _and Sappho because they're controversial, but they saw the educational value in it and reluctantly approved it. Now my mother will probably get a complaint from an angry parent because her kid's lesbian teachers were arguing about a lesbian _ménage_ in the middle of class. I don't need to deal with that on top of everything else over Christmas dinner with my parents," Regina said, fuming.

"Look, Regina, I'm sorry. Maybe I didn't think it through all the way, but I truly thought the students would be able to handle the material. And, I thought you would be able to be a professional about it. I didn't mean to embarrass you. I honestly didn't think it was a big deal," Emma said. "The students aren't stupid and know enough about Sappho…if it's appropriate to have them read as a class assignment, I didn't think it would be that far-fetched to bring in some supplemental material on the topic, especially when it was posed as a legitimate question by one of the students."

"Of course you didn't. You never think anything through. You're impulsive and irresponsible and you're more concerned with making sure the students like you than actually doing your damn job like a professional. But you know what? It's fine. The unit's done, and at least winter break starts tomorrow, so I'll get a two-week reprieve from dealing with you and your shit." Regina turned and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

"Wow…you really fucked up."

Emma looked over at Marian, almost forgetting that she was there. "Yeah, I guess so."

"So, what are you going to do?"

"Nothing." Emma shrugged and grabbed a cup of coffee, unfazed. "She's made it perfectly clear how she feels about me, and I must say, the feeling is mutual."

*.*.*

Emma quietly knocked on Regina's office door later that afternoon. "Come in," she heard her call from inside.

The brunette briefly looked up from grading papers when Emma opened the door, but she quickly resumed her task when she saw the blonde walk in. "What do you want, Miss Swan?"

Emma stepped inside and closed the door behind her, leaning against it. "I wanted to apologize for earlier."

She didn't look up. "Really? Because you didn't seem to think you did anything wrong. What changed in the last two hours?"

"Well, nothing, I guess."

"Then again, Miss Swan, I must ask: Why are you here?" She stared at Emma expectantly.

"You seemed really pissed off. I just wanted to make sure you're okay."

"I was angry. I still am. But, I'll be fine."

"Are we okay?"

"Emma," she looked up exasperated. "There is no 'we.' We aren't friends, and we certainly will never be anything more."

Emma nodded as Regina looked back down at the pile of papers on her desk. Emma took that as her cue to leave, so she walked out of her office, trying to ignore the feeling of disappointment that settled in her stomach.

* * *

**A/N: **Thanks again for reading! Two chapters left to go. The next will be up on Sunday.


	4. IV - New Year's Eve

**A/N: **We're almost to the finish line. Just two more to go! Thanks for reading!

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**IV. NEW YEAR'S EVE**

"And you know the rules?" Regina looked at her son as she double-checked that she had everything she needed in her handbag.

Henry rolled his eyes. "Yes, Mom. No drinking. No drugs. Definitely no drinking and driving. No texting and driving. No talking to strangers. Just say no. No glove, no love."

Regina wasn't amused. "I'm serious, Henry. I need to know that I can trust you."

"You can. I'll be fine, Mom. I'm almost an adult. I know the rules. I'm not going to do anything stupid. I'm just spending the night at Nick's New Year's party — it'll just be some guys hanging out and playing video games in his basement. Low key. I promise."

"Okay. Be good." She kissed the top of his head, much to his chagrin, before grabbing her garment bag from its hook on the back of the front door. "I expect you back here by 10am tomorrow," she said as she opened the door and walked to her car to head to Storybrooke Plaza for Ariel's wedding.

*.*.*

"There are at least two other weddings in the other ballrooms," Regina said as she approached Marian at the bar during the reception. "Who knew so many people would want to get married on New Year's Eve?"

Marian shrugged. "It's kind of romantic, I guess… wanting to start the new year as a married couple and all. And at least it's an open bar and we didn't have to overpay for tickets to some lame event at a club. It gives us somewhere to be," she pointed out as the bartender handed her a bottle of Heineken and she took a swig. "Plus, you know everyone in this room, so maybe you can find some hot piece of ass from one of the other weddings to take home with you."

"Ha. Funny," Regina said, accepting the glass of red wine the bartender placed in front of her.

"I'm serious, Regina. When was the last time you got laid?"

Regina could feel her face turn red, but she hoped her friend would think it was from the wine. "I stopped counting after I hit the one year mark post-Mal, and that was a handful of months ago," she confessed. "But it's fine. I've been more focused on making sure my 17-year-old son gets through high school in one piece. That's my main priority at the moment. I can make up for lost time next year when he's out of the house at college."

"Is this seat taken?" Emma asked as she came up and stood on the other side of Marian, signaling the bartender for another scotch on the rocks.

"Ugh, just when I thought I would get two glorious weeks without seeing your face, here you are," Regina said, ignoring her question.

"It's nice to see you, too, Regina," Emma said as she nodded her thanks to the bartender as he placed the drink in front of her.

Regina rolled her eyes. "Why are you here?"

"Believe it or not, Regina, I do have friends at work, and consequently, I do get invited to things…like this wedding."

"I'm just going to head over to find my husband," Marian said, excusing herself from the awkwardness. "I'll see you later, Regina." Marian patted her on the shoulder as she went back to the dance floor where Robin was dancing with the bride and groom, along with a few other friends from work.

"So, I take it you're still pissed at me?" Emma asked, though it was more of a statement and less of a question, as she took a sip of her Dewar's and sat down on the stool Marian had just vacated.

Regina drank more of her wine without even looking in her direction. "Yes."

"So, how many more drinks will it take to get you to forgive me?" Emma asked.

She let out a bemused laugh. "You're an ass."

"That's probably true. I am sorry I upset you, though."

"I appreciate yet another of your insincere apologies, Miss Swan," Regina stated.

"Did your mom get any complaints from angry parents?" Emma asked.

"Surprisingly, no. So, I suppose you're off the hook as far as that goes," Regina said, finally looking over at Emma as she downed the rest of her wine. She tried not to notice how attractive the blonde looked in her black suit, the tailored jacket and slim pants accentuating her curves. But she definitely couldn't ignore how great Emma's cleavage looked in the tasteful, yet extremely sexy, black bustier she wore underneath the jacket, or how kissable her long neck looked, left exposed by the blonde hair that was pulled back into a sleek low ponytail.

"Good, I'm glad. Another drink?" Emma asked, motioning toward Regina's empty glass.

"What, are you trying to get me drunk?"

"It's a wedding with an open bar. It would be a shame not to take advantage of all this free liquor."

Regina rolled her eyes and pushed her empty glass toward the blonde. "Fine. But make it a bourbon."

Emma raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Yes, ma'am."

"Emma," Regina said, with a smirk. "Never call me 'ma'am' again."

"Yes, m-madam." She paused. "Is that any better?"

"Not at all."

"Fine, _Miss Mills_."

"That's better," Regina laughed.

"Excuse me, miss, could I borrow you for a dance?" A young blonde woman Regina didn't know lightly brushed Emma's arm as she approached the bar. She looked like she was maybe 19, at most.

Emma looked at Regina, who rolled her eyes and turned back to her drink, ignoring the blonde completely. "Absolutely," Emma extended her hand to the newcomer as she hopped off the barstool to accompany her to the dance floor. "I'm Emma."

"Ashely," the young woman responded with a smile.

"Idiot," Regina mumbled under her breath as she knocked back the rest of her bourbon when Emma walked away.

*.*.*

Emma returned to the bar a few songs later, somewhat surprised to find Regina exactly where she had left her, nursing another drink. "You're still over here? Shouldn't you be out on the dance floor with the rest of the bridal party?"

Regina shook her head. "I'm not much of a dancer. Ariel knew that when she asked me to be her bridesmaid. I'm so much better at drinking," she said as she raised her vodka soda in a mock toast.

"I can see that…but I'll get you to dance before the night is over."

"Unlikely. Besides, what happened to your jailbait girl?"

"What, are you jealous of Ashley?"

Regina looked at her incredulously. "Of course not," she deadpanned.

*.*.*

"You know, you pull off that dress quite well," Emma said, speaking softly into Regina's ear. She finally got the brunette to agree to dance after a few more drinks as midnight quickly approached.

Regina laughed as she looked down at the emerald green satin gown Ariel had selected for her bridesmaids. "Thanks, but I look like Gumby. This dress is going to Goodwill in the morning."

"Well, I'm glad I got to see you in it before you donate it. You really do look great."

Regina took a small step back to look at Emma, expecting to see a sarcastic grin on her face. Instead, she just saw sincerity. It was unexpected and she found it confusing, so she shook it off. "I'm going to get another drink. Do you want anything?"

"Nope, I'm fine. Thanks, though," Emma replied. Regina gave Emma a small nod as she started to walk away, but the blonde reached out and grabbed her wrist before she got too far. "Regina, are you okay?"

"Absolutely. I'll be back right back." She gave her a subtle, yet forced smile and then turned around.

Emma watched as Regina walked over to the bar, joining Marian and Robin for a shot before walking out of the ballroom through a pair of French doors leading to the outside.

Emma quickly followed, finding her on a large terrace overlooking a small pond. "What are you doing out here?" Emma asked.

"What does it look like? I'm getting some fresh air."

"You do realize it's December in Maine and it's like 30 degrees out here. You're going to freeze."

"I've been drinking since before noon. I'm past the point of being able to feel the cold."

"Fair enough. But, I'm freezing so I'm sure you are too, even if you can't feel it, so let's go back in. And it's only a few minutes until midnight...you definitely don't want to miss the start of the new year," Emma motioned an arm toward the door.

"Oh, because that would be such a travesty," Regina said, but she acquiesced and let Emma guide her back inside. As they walked back into the ballroom, they heard the DJ announce that there were only 90 seconds until midnight.

Emma smirked as they walked back to the bar, watching Regina lean forward on her forearms trying to get the bartender's attention. "I don't suppose I can convince you to be my midnight kiss?" the blonde asked.

Regina motioned for two shots, which the bartender promptly poured. She handed Emma one. "Cheers," she said, clinking her shot glass as they tossed back the drink.

"God, what was that?" Emma asked as she looked at her empty glass.

"What, you can't handle your tequila?"

"It wouldn't be my first choice."

"Fine," Regina said.

"Fine what?"

"Fine, I'll kiss you at midnight. It's not like it'll be the first time."

"Wow, you don't have to sound too excited about it," Emma said, feigning disappointment.

"10…9…8..." the music cut off and room filled with the sound of guests counting down the seconds until midnight.

Regina pushed herself off the bar and stood up straight, slightly rolling her shoulders as she did so. "So, are we going to do this or what?" she asked over the sound of the final countdown.

"I love it when you're bossy," Emma replied as the final seconds were announced. When the countdown reached "1", Regina grabbed the lapels of Emma's jacket and pulled the blonde toward her, taking control of the kiss. They broke apart as the ballroom erupted into cheers toasting the new year. Emma looked down at Regina and watched as the brunette looked around the room, her eyes flitting from one side of the ballroom to the other. Emma leaned closer to her and whispered, "Relax, we're safe. No one saw us."

Regina quickly turned her face back to Emma, and the blonde noticed that Regina's eyes were noticeably darker than before.

"No, that's not—I…" Regina started, but she didn't really know what to say. Instead she grabbed Emma's hand and led her out of the ballroom and into the hallway, pressing the blonde against the wall and kissing her again as soon as they cleared the doorway.

"What was that for?" Emma asked a minute later, breathless. Regina had completely taken her by surprise.

"I'm sorry, did you want to stay in there?" Regina asked, gesturing back into the ballroom as she raised an eyebrow.

Emma shook her head and leaned closer. "Not if this is an alternative option," she said softly as she brought a hand to cup Regina's left cheek and turned the brunette's head just enough so she could place a kiss just beneath her right ear, slowly making her way across the Regina's jawline and then down her neck. Regina hummed in response, making Emma feel more bold than usual, her tongue peeking out to graze the woman's pulse point. "You know," she said quietly as she continued her path across Regina's skin, "I have a room upstairs."

"Lead the way."

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**A/N: **The final chapter will be up mid-week (Wednesday or Thursday).


	5. V - New Year's Day

**A/N: **And now for the conclusion...this picks up almost right where the last one left off...almost.

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**V. NEW YEAR'S DAY**

"Good god, what the fuck is that?" Regina growled as she lifted her head to look at the clock on the hotel nightstand.

"I think it's a party across the hall." Emma groaned from behind her.

"Ugh, it's 4am. Who the hell is still partying at this hour?"

"I don't know," the blonde said, her voice still raspy from sleep and summoning the energy to open her eyes. "But, I can think of something we could be doing now that we're awake," she said, tightening her hold on Regina's waist and shifting her leg slightly to press into her.

Regina looked over her shoulder and allowed a small smile to cross her lips. "As much fun as that would be, dear —and it would be— I'm still drunk and I can already feel a hangover coming on." She settled back down and placed her own arm on top of Emma's, pulling the blonde closer to her and intertwining their fingers, trying to settle back into her comfortable spot as the little spoon.

"I'm pretty sure being drunk hasn't stopped you before," Emma pointed out, remembering exactly how they ended up in their current position.

Regina smirked. "Mhmm…but I just want to sleep in hopes that maybe tomorrow won't be completely miserable."

"Well, good luck with that. They're being crazy loud."

"Should we call hotel security?"

"That seems a bit excessive, doesn't it?" Emma asked, kissing Regina's exposed shoulder and smiling as the memories of the past few hours replayed in her head. Regina may not like her, and they may not be the best teaching team, but they had proven that they could find pleasure in one another's company.

"I guess. Perhaps we can try the more civilized approach," Regina said, untangling herself from Emma's embrace as she shimmied out from under the covers.

"Which is what, exactly?" Emma asked as she turned on the bedside wall sconce, her eyes adjusting to the light as she watched Regina move off the bed and walk around naked. She couldn't help but appreciate the view of the other woman's perfect ass. "Wait, where are you going?"

Regina looked over her shoulder at the woman still in the bed as she searched for something to put on. "I'm going to politely knock on their door, ask them to turn down the music, and then threaten to call the cops if they refuse," she said casually as she went over to the chair where Emma's duffle bag was open, grabbing a pair of very short plaid pajama shorts that Emma clearly hadn't had a need for earlier that night, along with a white t-shirt.

"And you're raiding my suitcase to do that?"

Regina pulled on the shirt, smiling when she saw that it was the commemorative t-shirt from the volleyball state championship the previous year, which had been Emma's first year as head coach. "Well, it's not like I brought anything up here with me, and someone literally ripped my dress off, so I can't exactly put that back on."

"Sorry about that." Emma actually looked somewhat ashamed.

Regina smirked. "Don't be. That dress was terrible."

"Let me go with you," Emma suggested as she started to sit up. "It could be dangerous."

Regina studied Emma carefully, noticing the blonde wince as she sat up in bed. "It's probably just some drunk wedding guests who wanted an after-party…I think everyone on this floor is from Ariel and Eric's reserved block of rooms for their guests, so I'll be fine. Besides, you look like you're about to pass out, and you're not exactly the most formidable person even when you're at your best….no offense."

"None taken. You do have a point. Just hurry up and come back to bed."

"I'll be quick," Regina promised.

"Mmm 'kay, good," Emma sighed.

Regina rolled her eyes as she opened the door and heard Emma collapse back on the bed behind her. She didn't have to go too far to find the source of the noise, noticing red solo cups strewn along the hallway outside Emma's door and hearing Drake blaring from the room two doors down. She walked over and knocked on the door, but when no one answered she pounded harder to get their attention.

Finally, the door cracked opened and she gasped. "Nick?"

"Ms. Mills?" The teen boy looked at her with wide eyes and his mouth open in shock. When he finally managed to close it, he swallowed hard. "Wha…what are you doing here?"

"Funny, I was just about to ask you that same question." Her annoyance with the loud party quickly turned to anger as she put her hand on the hotel room door, opening it wider and peering inside, subconsciously knowing exactly what, and who, she would find. Nick quickly tried to conceal the beer bottle in his hand behind his back, but it was a futile attempt given the cases of beer and bottles of liquor scattered around the room. Her eyes settled on the teen in the corner of the room, who was completely oblivious to the situation, holding a red cup and sitting with a girl Regina vaguely recognized from the high school. "Henry Daniel Mills!"

Someone in the room turned off the music when they saw her, and it suddenly became eerily quiet in the formerly boisterous room.

"Mom?!" He dropped the cup in shock as he stared at his mother, beer spilling onto the hotel carpet. "Why are you here?" He stood up as he processed the turn of events. "And what are you wearing?"

It was then that she remembered she was barely dressed in a room full of her high school students, while simultaneously realizing that there would be no doubt in anyone's mind as to what she had been doing that evening. She looked down to make sure she was as covered as possible and quickly tried to regain her composure, though her cheeks were still slightly flushed from embarrassment and her own residual inebriation. At that point, she just silently prayed that those standing closest to her couldn't smell the leftover scent of alcohol and sex on her, and that the thin white t-shirt she was wearing wasn't too see-through, given that she was definitely not wearing a bra.

"That's not important," she recovered. "Come here. Now," she demanded, subconsciously crossing her arms over her chest. Her eyes scanned the room as she debated her next move. She technically needed to report all the students for underaged drinking and violating the school's code of conduct, but she was still too intoxicated to strategize the best way to handle a room of 50 students disturbing the peace in a hotel, particularly when she herself looked like the embodiment of the walk of shame.

Before she had time to say anything else, she felt someone approach her in the hallway. "Regina, what's taking so long? Are you okay?"

Regina closed her eyes and let out a loud sigh as she heard Emma's voice behind her and then felt the blonde's hand sweep across her lower back and move to her hip. _This is bad,_ she thought. At least before the students didn't know who was responsible for her unkempt appearance. But, thanks to Emma's untimely arrival, it was painfully obvious that she had spent the better part of the post-midnight hours drunkenly screwing another teacher, and a teacher everyone knew she hated, at that. She could practically hear the "teachers are supposed to be role models, Regina," lecture she would certainly get from her mother after this, because there was absolutely no doubt in her mind that rumors about this little booze-fueled indiscretion would make their way to the district offices.

"Oh, shit," Emma said as she looked into the room and saw Nick, Henry, and a handful of familiar faces staring back at her, jaws agape. A few had quickly taken out their phones to document the revelation that their favorite teacher and their least favorite teacher were in some sort of enemies-with-benefits arrangement.

Emma immediately dropped her arm from where it had taken residence around Regina's waist, which brought Regina's thoughts back to the immediate mess she was in.

Regina slowly opened one eye and then the other to look over at Emma for the first time since the woman had approached her, and she grimaced at what she saw. The blonde had wrapped herself in the fluffy hotel robe, but nothing else. "Oh, for fuck's sake," Regina said under her breath. "You couldn't have at least put on some clothes first?"

"You're kind of wearing all I brought, Regina…I wasn't about to deal with trying to put that corset back on at 4am," she quietly reminded her.

"Way to go, Ms. Mills," one of the students said, eyeing both women's disheveled appearances.

"Hey, Henry, you owe me 50 bucks," another student commented, looking knowingly at the pair in the doorway.

Regina glared at the student who had spoken as Emma winced.

"Mom, please tell me this isn't happening."

For a moment Regina had forgotten that Henry was standing in front of her, staring back at her incredulously. He was clearly mortified. She let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. "Oh believe me, I wish I could. Get your things. We're going."

"Going where?" he asked.

"I am calling an Uber and we're going back to the house."

"Uh, Regina?" Emma asked her quietly as the brunette stood in the doorway and waited for Henry.

"What?" Regina snapped, her tone sharper than she intended. She immediately sent Emma an apologetic look.

"What should we do about the room of drunk high school delinquents?" She asked as she nodded her head toward the room of underage students. "Clearly we broke up their party and we can't let them drive."

She sighed. "Right. Well, let's let hotel security handle them. Stay here and make sure no one tries to leave, and I'll go back to your room and call them."

"No need, ma'am." A gruff voice approached her from the hallway. She looked over to see a hotel security guard arriving, who explained that he had received several complaints called in from various hotel guests about loud music and rowdy behavior. "I've already called the cops and they're on their way to issue citations." The room full of students grumbled and most looked panicked, making Regina thankful that for a brief moment she and Emma weren't the main focus.

"Thank you, sir." Regina said as she put her hand on Henry's shoulder and guided him out of the room and down the hall.

"God, this is so humiliating," he complained as he walked toward Emma's room with his mother, Emma following just a few steps behind them.

"At least your mom was there to get you out before the cops showed up," Emma chimed in as she stopped to open her hotel room door.

"Oh believe me, he'll wish he only had the cops to deal with by the time I'm done with him," Regina added.

Emma opened the door and Regina stepped inside. She looked back at Henry, expecting him to follow her into the room as Emma continued to hold it open. Instead, Henry just stood and stared at her, shaking his head. "Oh, there's no way in hell I'm going in there, knowing what happened in that room tonight. I'll wait out here," he said, wrinkling his nose in disgust at the thought of his mom having sex.

Regina sighed. "Fine. Don't move. I'll be right out. I just have to grab my things."

Emma followed her into the room and closed the door. "Are you okay?"

"You know, you've been asking me that a lot recently." She picked one stiletto off the ground and started looking for its twin, finding it on the floor of the ensuite bathroom and not entirely sure how it ended up there. She didn't remember the shower playing a role in their early morning activities. "And no, I'm not okay. Not only did half the senior class catch us having a drunken one night stand, pictures of which I'm sure will be all over Instagram by morning, but I just busted my 17-year-old son at a hotel party drinking, after he lied to my face about where he was going to be tonight. So no, I'm not okay. Clearly I won't be up for any 'Mother of the Year' awards anytime soon." She stopped her rambling, but was fighting back tears. She continued to look around the room, not quite sure what she was looking for…maybe she could find her dignity under the bed.

"Look, Regina, I get that this sucks. And I know it's really not the time to have a conversation about what any of this means so I won't even try, but believe me when I say that this isn't how I hoped tonight would end," Emma said. "And I don't want this to be a one night stand," she added cautiously.

Regina stopped pacing and looked over at her, prompting Emma to slowly approach her, reaching out a hand to play with the hem of her t-shirt. "But, I gotta say, you do look cute in my clothes."

At that Regina smiled briefly, but then quickly frowned as she realized that she was in fact still wearing the blonde's shirt and shorts and would have to wear that home. "Fuck, this is so screwed up. And I need to get Henry home before this gets any worse."

"I know you do. Just take a deep breath and try not to murder him. And you're not a bad mom, Regina. Far from it. Teenagers do stupid shit, but Henry's a good kid. You've done a great job raising him."

"Thank you," she said shyly as she finally allowed a tear to fall, and Emma quickly responded by pulling her into a hug.

Emma walked her toward the door and handed Regina the down parka she had hanging in the hotel room closet. "Here, take this. It's freezing outside and you didn't bring your coat up here. Plus, you're not wearing pants," she laughed, hoping she would see the humor in the situation.

Regina smiled graciously and took it. "Thank you, Emma….and can I ask you one more favor?"

"Of course. Anything."

She took her keys out of her purse. "Can you drive my car back to my house later today when you check out? I'm clearly in no shape to drive right now. I'll be happy to give you a ride back to your place so you're not stranded at my house when you come by."

"Wow…Trusting me with your beloved Benz?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Well, I don't have much of a choice."

"Okay…on one condition," Emma stated.

"And that would be…?"

"Have dinner with me Saturday night."

"Well," Regina started, allowing a small smile to cross her lips. "Since everyone knows we slept together, I suppose a proper dinner couldn't hurt my reputation at this point."

"Good," Emma smiled back at her. "Does this mean you don't hate me anymore?"

"That's debatable, Miss Swan."

"Hey, I'll take it."

She kissed the blonde's cheek. "Goodnight, Emma…and thank you," she said as she opened the door and quietly left the room, leaving Emma shaking her head as she crawled back into bed, already missing the warmth of the brunette who had been beside her.

**The End**

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**A/N: **Thank you so much for reading! There has been a request from a very loyal reader for an epilogue once they get back to school and to see how everyone reacts, so I'm trying to put a little something together..no promises, but hopefully I can get something written, as her suggestion did spark an idea. If you've followed/favorited this fic, then you'll get notified if/when that happens. But for now, the end :)


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